String for musical instruments



June 18, 1940.

s. KAPLAN 2,205,144

STRIHG FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Filed April 15, 1939 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented June 18, 1940 UNITED STATES` PATENT CFFICE STRING FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Stanley Kaplan, Norwalk, Conn., assignor to Kaplan Musical String Co., Norwalk, Conn.

This invention relates to ilnprovements in strings for musical instruments.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a musical instrument string which not only is capable of producing a tone ofhigh quality,

but' is substantially unaffected by moisture or change in temperature.

Because of their light weight and proper elasticity, gut strings, from the standpoint` of tone, have been considered superior to all others. For example, the violin A strings now in general use are for the most part gut strings. In spite of the fine tonal quality of gut strings, however, they are open to the very denite disadvantage of being highly susceptible to moisture as from perspiring ngers or from the air and under the inuerlce of which the gut softens up, becoming rough and uneven and frequently causing the strands to separate.

IMoistureproong in the processing of gut has been used with some success, but, it has been iicund, results in a harder, more brittle gut which gives the string a harsh tone. No known treatment of the surface of gut strings is of avail,

v because, due in part to the necessary stretching the string on the. musical instrument, the finish does not stick to the gut permanently.

Various alternatives to plain gut strings have been propos-ed. vOne such proposal that has been used involves a string having a core of steel,

wound with aluminum wire and having an underlay of silk iloss, braided silk or the like. However, aluminum wound steel strings have a very harsh metallic tone which even a braided silk underlay does not entirely eliminate.

Another alternative string involves a gut core with aluminum Wire wound thereon. Such a string liasbeen found to have a good tone, but

with such strings it is necessary to use a very thin foundation or core Which frequently does not have adequate strength. Moreover, the aluminum wire too,l must be extremely thin, .00375 inch in the case of violin A strings, with the result that any expansion of the gut core breaks up the winding. Also, it has been found that such strings Wear through after a relatively short period of use. If the size of the gut core is increased to gain strength, the weight and tension of the string on the instrument is increased, making the'tone harsh and unresponsive. In' creasing the thickness of the aluminum wire also -increases the weight and places a greater strain on the string, increasing the possibilities of premature breakage. Moreover, aluminum wound strings, particularly A strings; must be made Within such close limits that only the most care- Fig. 2.

full selection of materials makes them at all feasible.

Also, because of the very high heat conductivity of aluminum and its high coeiiicient of expansion, strings wound with this material are i greatly affected by temperature changes, as brought about by changes in the temperature of the air or by the heat of the. fingers in playing,. so that they lack stability of pitch.

Moreover,`although aluminum strings are car'el. fully polished after winding to make them as4 smooth as possible, the expansion of the gut under the thin-wire causes a roughness for which they arefrequently rejected. a problem difficult to overcome because of the lack of. strength of u such thin soft wire. A further disadvantage of strings wound with aluminum wire is that the wire blackens the fingers of the players.

It is, therefore, another object of the invention to provide a string which overcollles the above enumerated disadvantages of aluminum strings.

To these ends'there is provided as a feature of the invention a musical instrument string involving the utilization of a synthetic` plastic fiber such as nylon, such string having a gauge or e@ characteristics substantially the same as a standard gauge of a string of known designation.

Another feature of the invention resides in providing a string having a core of metal. gut or nylon, about which is `wound nylon fiber.

Advantages flowing from the utilization of nylon fiber in a musical linstrument string include the provision of a string that has a tone as mellow and responsive as the best gut string; that is substantially impervious to moisture, or to 35 perspiration or like body acids; that is substantially unaffected by changes in temperature, thus maintaining accurate pitch so essential in public performance; that has a superior smoothness of surface; that has wearing quality superior w to that of aluminum Wound string; that will not be roughened under the action of the lingers in playing; and that will have great durability.

Other objects, features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is an enlarged fragmentary side view of a musical instrument string illustrating one form of the invention. f

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side view, partially in section, of the musical instrument string shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the string shown in Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing a modified form of the invention.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but illustrating a further modified form of the invention.

Fig. 6 is an end view of the musical instrument string shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary side view of a musical instrument string illustrating another form of the invention.

Fig. 8 is an end view of the string shown in Fig. 7.

Before describing the present improvements and mode of operation thereof in detail it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the details of construction and arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawing, which are merely illustrative'of thevpresent preferred embodiments, since the invention is capable of other embodiments, and the phraseology employed is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

Referring more particularly to the drawing and rst to Figs. l, 2 and 3, there is shown a musical instrument string I2 looped and tied at one end in the conventional manner to provide an eye II for attachment to a complementary element on -the musical instrument with which` it is to be vwhichjit has Vbeen found, has a specific gravity approximating animal gut, is insensitive and substantially impervious to moisture, has a high tensile strength, has an elasticity approximating gut, has a smoothness even after polishing and wearing away, has a high resistance to wear, is a substantial nonconductor of heat so that it is not affected by temperature changes, and has a ilexibility which enables it to be most successfully wound about even a very small core.

This material of which the ber I4 is made, and which in ber form has been found to be so well adapted for winding on a core in a musical instrument string, is a synthetic plastic material developed by E. I. du Pont de Nemours 8L Co. and called nylon, a generic name including all materialsdeiined scientifically as synthetic fiberforming polymeric amides having a proteinlike chemical structure.

Tests with plain unwound nylon fibers have given no indication that nylon would be a satisfactory material for musical instrument strings. On the contrary such tests have shown that the quality and volume of tone produced by plain nylon fiber when strung in a musical instrument is so inferior and unsatisfactory that it could not be used as a substitute for plain gut string. 'Ihe eminently satisfactory results.V achieved, therefore, when nylon fiber, or nylon monofilament, was wound on a gut core were totally unexpected and contrary to the results anticipated in view of the inferior tonal qualities found by tests made on unwound nylon fiber.

In comparing an aluminum wound string with a nylon wound string of the same type it is found vthat the gut core or foundation Aof the latter can be ten per cent larger in diameter1 thus gaining at least twenty per cent in tensile strength and even with the thicker nylon covering, giving added strength and wear, the resultant tone is Superior to the aluminum wound string.

Moreover, nylon ber used in winding musical instrument strings not only has a far greater strength than the aluminum wire, but it has a marked degree of elasticity which makes it possible to wind it tighter on the gut foundation or core I3, and even through an underlay of silk or the like such as the winding I6 shown in Fig. 5 may be used, such an underlay is not necessary with a gut core, as the nylon adjusts itself to any expansion of the core or foundation. And, as nylon is unaffected by moisture, is mcistureproof and a nonconductor of heat, the pitch of a string wound with nylon fiber or having at least an outer covering of nylon, is not affected by either atmospheric or temperature changes. A stability of pitch is thus obtained which is not approached by any other known type of string. Such anylon wound string is adaptable to any musical instrument requiring the thickness or specific gravity of gut strings, and while producing a tone as mellow and responsive as the best gut string, is, because of its superior durability and strength, its quality of being substantially unaffected by mois* ture and its superior surface smoothness, much more satisfactory than gut string.

If desired, and as shown in Fig. 4, the nylon winding utilized may be built oi a plurality of separate strands II of fiber and this, whether a gut core I3 such as shown in Fig. 2 is used, or a nylon core I8 such as in the modified string I9 shown in Fig. 4 is used. As with the string I2 shown in Fig. 2, anadhesive I5 may, as shown, be interposed between the nylon winding and the core, and it will also be appreciated that a winding of a single strand Il of fiber Such as shown in Fig. 2, may be utilized on the nylon core I8 shown in Fig. 4.

For extreme dependability and strength, a modiiied string 20, such as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, may be utilized, characterized by a strong .core 2| of metal, such as steel. A'winding of a single strand 22 of nylon fiber, as in the string I2 shown in Fig. 2, may be used on the steel core, but it will be readily understood that, if desired a nylon winding made up of a plurality of separate strands, such for example as shown in Fig. 4, may be used.

Preferably, and in order to overcome any tendency of the string 20 with the metal core 2| to 'produce a tone which is too metallic, a layer of silk or the like such asprovided by the silk winding Ii is interposed between the nylon winding and the core and, as shown, may be secured to the core by an adhesive I5. As hereinbefore explained such an intermediate layer may also be used in the string I2 having a gut core I3, and if desired'may also be utilized in the string I9 having a nylon core I8.

While, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, the Vnylon fiber used in winding the string is substantially round, this shape is not essential since after the strings are wound they are polished or sandpapered to provide a smooth outer surface. Thus, as in the string 23 shown in Figs. 7 and 8, a substantially iiat nylon fiber 24 may be wound about a core 25 which, for example, may be of gut as in Fig. 2, of nylon as in Fig. 4, or of metal as in Fig. 5. Also, it is to be understood that the size of the core and the thickness of the nylon ber may be varied to determine the ultimate pitch of the string.

Variations and modicationsmay be made within the scope of this invention and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A string for a musical instrument, having a diameter substantially the same as that of a gut string of known designation, comprising a core of tensile strength substantially the same as that of gut; and a wrapping of synthetic polymeric amide lament wound on said core.

2. A string for a musical instrument, having a diameter substantially the same as that of a gut string oi' known designation, comprising a gut core; and a wrapping of synthetic polymeric amide filament wound on said core. i

3. A string for a musica-1 instrument, having a gauge that is substantially the same as a standard gauge of a string of known designation, compri'sing a core; and a wrapping of synthetic polymeric amide filament wound on said core.

4. A string for a musical instrument, having a specific gravity substantially the same las that of a gut string of known designation, comprisingV specific gravity substantially the same as that of a gut string of known designation, comprising of gut core; and a filament winding on said core of a material Ahaving a specific gravity and an elasticity approximating that of gut, having high tensile strength and being substantially imperv vious and insensitive to moisture.

` 6. A string for a musical instrument, having a specific gravity substantially the same as that of a gut string of known designation, comprising a core; and an outer covering of nylon ilament wound on said core, said core being of metal wrapped with silk or the like.

7. A string for a musical instrument, having a thickness substantially the same as that of a gut string of known designation, comprising a gut core; and a Wrapping of substantially ilat synthetic polymeric amide filament wound on said core. y Y

8. A string for a musical instrument, having a thickness substantially the same as that of a gut string of known designation, comprising a gut core; and a plurality of separate strands of nylon filament wound on said core.

STANLEY KAPLAN. 

